Which of the Following Statements is True Regarding Cellular Metabolism

Question

Which of the following statements is true regarding cellular metabolism?
A) A living organism decreases the entropy in its surroundings.
B) During catabolism, heat is generated, and the cell uses this heat to perform work during anabolism.
C) The heat released by an animal cell as part of its metabolic processes comes from the bond energies in the foodstuffs that are consumed by the animal.
D) Living organisms defy the second law of thermodynamics, but still obey the first law.

Accepted Answer

For a living animal cell, heat-generating reactions from burning of foodstuffs are "coupled" to other reactions that increase order inside the cell. Concomitantly, there is an increase in the overall entropy of the universe (cell plus its environment), with no violation of the laws of thermodynamics for a spontaneous process.